Pot roast so tender it can be eaten only with a fork is an achievement.

No Stringy Meat

Growing up, one of my friends hated the times he had pot roast, as it was cooked in a rather short time frame, using an electric skillet with a lid that didn’t do a good job of keeping steam and moisture from escaping. To add to the disaster, the carrots and potatoes were added the last 30 minutes, and didn’t have time to soften. The result….exceedingly tough and stringy pot roast, with al dente potatoes and carrots….made marginally better with brown gravy.

Add Red Wine

There’s no need for tough pot roast. When the 7-bone chuck roast went on a sale a couple weeks ago at Publix, I scored a 3.5 pound roast, and asked my husband to pick up a bottle of red wine for me. Carrots, onions, celery and potatoes are so delicious with a tender roast, and including them in the crockpot is another way of keeping the roast tender, especially on top.

Newer crockpots running hotter

One thing I’ve noticed about crockpot recipes is I’ve been able to cut off an hour of cooking time for most recipes, because the newer crockpots run hotter, even on the low setting, than the older crockpots do. Other cooks have noticed this same thing, and most find it annoying. Some even question the need for the ‘hot’ setting on the newer crockpots. That said, it was nice to have the roast ready in about seven hours using my year-old Rival crockpot, as opposed to 8-10 hours. And the spices made it amazing.

Spice it Yourself

Using a handful of spices instead of Lipton dried soup, adding more carrots, and a little red wine, I was amazed at how much earthier, more delicious, and less salty the pot roast tasted. The small amount of red wine jazzed up the pot roast. The bone had completely separated from the roast–evidence that the meat was very, very tender.

This is comfort food at it’s best. And I think it’s the best darn pot roast I’ve made so far. I’d love to hear how it turns out for you.

Crock it Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds chuck roast (I used 7-bone chuck roast)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (to be sprinkled on roast)
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 cup red wine (if you use table wine, you can enjoy the rest with dinner)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 4 small to medium carrots, chopped into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 Idaho or Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Directions

Preheat large skillet to medium high heat. Meanwhile, put flour on a plate. Sprinkle the roast with kosher salt on both sides with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Dip the roast into the flour, making sure to coat all sides. Place roast in hot pan to sear all sides, about 30 seconds each side. Place roast in crockpot.

Mix spices, onion powder through ground pepper in small bowl. Sprinkle on top and beside roast.

Put diced onion and celery around roast. Top with chopped carrots and quartered potatoes. Pour red wine and water into crockpot, put lid on it and cook the roast on low setting for 7-8 hours in crockpot. Remove and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with a little chopped parsley. Wonderful with baked sweet potatoes.